High sensitivity noise immune stethoscope
First Claim
1. A stethoscope, comprising:
- a housing comprising an inner cavity;
a flexural disc mounted on the housing; and
an electromechanical stack positioned at least partially within the inner cavity mechanically coupled between the housing and the flexural disc, wherein the flexural disc is structured and arranged to transmit physiological vibrations from tissue of a patient into the electromechanical stack while having sufficient stiffness to impede coupling to air-carried sound, the electromechanical stack generates an electrical signal upon the transmission of the physiological vibrations from the tissue of the patient via the flexural disc, and the inner cavity of the housing is not structured to reflect sound.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A physiological sensing stethoscope suitable for use in high-noise environments is disclosed. The stethoscope is designed to be substantially matched to the mechanical impedance of monitored physiological activity and substantially mismatched to the mechanical impedance of air-coupled acoustic activity. One embodiment of the stethoscope utilizes a passive acoustic system. Another embodiment utilizes an active Doppler system. The passive and active systems can be combined in one stethoscope enabling switching from a passive mode to an active mode suitable for use in very high-noise environments. The stethoscope is suitable for use in environments having an ambient background noise of 100 dBA and higher. The passive includes a head having a housing, a flexural disc mounted with the housing, and an electromechanical stack positioned between the housing and the flexural disc in contact with the skin of a patient. The active system detects Doppler shifts using a high-frequency transmitter and receiver.
92 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A stethoscope, comprising:
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a housing comprising an inner cavity; a flexural disc mounted on the housing; and an electromechanical stack positioned at least partially within the inner cavity mechanically coupled between the housing and the flexural disc, wherein the flexural disc is structured and arranged to transmit physiological vibrations from tissue of a patient into the electromechanical stack while having sufficient stiffness to impede coupling to air-carried sound, the electromechanical stack generates an electrical signal upon the transmission of the physiological vibrations from the tissue of the patient via the flexural disc, and the inner cavity of the housing is not structured to reflect sound. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A stethoscope, comprising:
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A housing comprising an inner cavity; an electromechanical stack positioned within the housing; and means for mechanically amplifying physiological signals in communication with the electromechanical stack comprising a flexural disc, wherein the flexural disc is structured and arranged to transmit physiological vibrations from tissue of a patient into the electromechanical stack while having sufficient stiffness to impede coupling to air-carried sound, the electromechanical stack generates and electrical signal upon the transmission of the physiological vibration from the tissue of the patient via the flexural disc, and the inner cavity of the housing is not structured to reflect sound. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A stethoscope, comprising:
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a housing having an interior inner cavity and a longitudinal axis; a transducer capable of converting mechanical energy into an electrical signal positioned within the housing, wherein the transducer has a longest dimension substantially collinear with the longitudinal axis;
means for mechanically amplifying forces exerted by physiological activity in communication with the transducer; and
means for amplifying the electrical signal of the transducer, wherein the flexural disc is structured and arranged to transmit physiological vibrations from tissue of a patient into the transducer while having sufficient stiffness to impede coupling to air-carried sound, the transducer generates an electrical signal upon the transmission of the physiological vibrations from the tissue of the patient via the flexural disc, and the inner cavity of the housing is not structured to reflect sound. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification